What do Recruiters Look For?

It’s a classic question: how do I make myself attractive for recruiters. What is it that recruiters look for? How can I make myself more attractive to the recruiters who are searching for job applicants?

This post is set to answer that question. The whole aim of this article is to help people know exactly what it is that recruiters look for. What on a resume makes someone stand out. What is is on someone’s LinkedIn profile that makes someone stand out. And what could be the key points on a Zoom interview or a Phone interview that makes recruiters look up.

First and foremost, the main thing that you need to understand is that it is important to impress a recruiter. And that’s a bit of a hard pill to swallow.

Not all recruiters can get you the job, but they can keep you from the job openings. And that’s the sour point. If you are not going to make a good impression with your recruiter, you do risk eliminating yourself from many of the jobs that they have at their disposal.

Let’s review some of the more salient points of how to impress your recruiter. What it is exactly a recruiter looks for, and how to handle the recruiter relationship.

What Do Recruiters Look for in a Resume

Alright, this is the first thing to address. A resume that is written like garbage is going to get you garbage. If you do not make the effort to make sure your resume is crisp and relevant, then you’re basically relegating yourself to a position of no importance.

Here is what recruiters look for in a resume:

Relevance

               Recruiters want a resume that is relevant. If they are recruiting for a Java developer, then they want a resume that states the person is experienced in Java and has X number years of experience.

Likewise, if the recruiter is recruiting for an executive assistant, then the recruiter will want to make sure that the E.A. resume has relevant experience. So, the secretary for Acme bolt and blots, who answered calls every two days a week, it’s really executive assistant material for a Manhattan hedge fund.

The more specific your qualifications can be and how specific they can line up with your potential job, the more successful you will be. Therefore it is essential that you get a resume that is broad enough to encompass all relevant skill sets (for instance, MS office for an E.A. Yardi and QuickBooks for a Payroll admin).

Grammar

It’s also important that you proof read your resume. You do not want to send out a resume with grammar mistakes. There are certain professions where a misspelled word or a grammatical typo won’t hurt (Medical Professions, such as Nurses) but in most job applications it is very important that you don’t create horrible grammar mistakes.

Consider the following situation: someone submits a resume for an executive assistant role. That resume is then looked at by the hiring manager. There are copious errors. What happens in that instance?

Well, in that case, the resume would likely be thrown into the garbage. Someone who cannot even be bothered to write a coherent resume would not be considered to be an executive assistant.

Likewise, if the resume was for anything such as an Account Executive, Sales Executive, or Marketing Assistant, the  grammar is going to be a major issue. If there are any issues on the resume, including tense issues, then they will likely be tossed.

Experience

This can sometimes trump grammar and relevancy.  If, for instance, you are recruiting for a very special job that has a very special requirement (such as a NICU RN or a Window Wall Engineer) and you get a totally trash resume, but you as the recruiter can discern that it’s a worthwhile resume, then you will oftentimes make that initial contact to determine what will happen.

If the person has the experience, then the state of their resume oftentimes doesn’t matter.

The most important aspect of a resume is not always the formatting, grammar, or punctuation. Oftentimes it is the relevant experience.

As a typical instance, let’s look at the case of an ICU Registered Nurse who happens to send in a less than stellar resume.

Suppose this resume was not formatted correctly, but supposed that the resume also did contain all of the relevant information: Registered Nurse information, license information, and experience. Well, do you think that that recruiter would not contact them? Of course not.

In this case, the fact that the person possesses an abundance of experience will supersede the terrible formatting of the resume.

Experience in certain fields can mean that you do not have to have a good resume. If you are working in the medical field, the you do not need a good resume.

If you are working in the professional field, however, then it is imperative that you keep your resume sharp, polished, and your interviewing skills and networking sills sharp so that you now how to act.

Finally, I suggest that you keep your resume to one page. Anything more is overkill unless you are planning on applying for C-Level roles.

What Do Recruiters Look for on LinkedIn

When it comes to LinkedIn, it’s a bit of a different story. Recruiters are looking for the whole package on LinkedIn. That means that you need to have a professional photo on your LinkedIn profile page. That also means that you need to have your profile built out and substantial. List your education, list your former jobs. And have a few lines about each role.

What LinkedIn should not be is a social media site where you post endless drivel and engage in message threads unrelated to work. That’s not a good look and if a recruiter sees that you do that, then it’s a sure sign that you’re someone to avoid.

As a recruiter, there is nothing more of a turn off when looking on LinkedIN then to see people engaged in personal arguments the like of which belongs on something like Facebook or Twitter.

This is why it’s important to design a LinkedIn profile with as much if not more care then you give to designing a resume. For many career fields, LinkedIn is even more important than a regular resume.

What Do Recruiters Look for in a Phone Interview

Totally different skill set required for acing a phone interview. Almost anyone can have a nice resume put together. In fact, there are countless resume writing services that do just that. They polish and clean up rough resumes and make even the most deadbeat person look attractive.

But what can’t really be faked is a phone interview (or more frequently now, a Zoom call).

If you’re someone who does not sound articulate, or who is unprofessional on the phone, then chances of you landing a good job are very low. In most career trackers, except Nursing , it is paramount to have a professional skill set and sound professional while on the phone.

Nurse recruiters will attest that a nurse can have the radio blasting in the background, or otherwise distracted and it will do little to effect their changes of obtaining work.

However, unless you are a nurse or some other sort of medical professional, you are going to have to have a good phone presence.

So what do recruiters look for in a phone interview? Well, first off, professionalism.

If you’re applying for a labor job such as warehouse or facilities, it’s not expected that you will have the same slick style of communicating as someone who does inside sales for a living. However, it is expected that when you’re on the phone you do not have your television on, or music playing. Also, it’s expected that you will answer your phone at the scheduled time.

If you’re skipping straight to a Zoom interview, or doing a second round call where it will be on camera, then you can check out my tips for how to impress on a Zoom interview here.

What Do Recruiters Look for in a Cover Letter

The honest question is not much. Frankly, as someone who has read tens thousands of resumes, and has submitted thousands of resumes to clients, I and everyone I ever worked with or knew in the industry never cared one bit about cover letters.

Cover letters are used mainly by hiring committees who work inside, have very little to do work wise, and therefore need to justify their salary.

Real recruiters, those who are tasked with sourcing, screening, and placing high volumes of candidates do not bother with cover letters.

I’ve heard of non-profits requiring cover letters, but again, that’s a part of the internal HR departments justifying their salary.

But in the corporate world, and certainly in blue color and related medical fields, there is never a real call for a cover letter.

I would say if you have one, it’s fine to include along with your resume. But it’s not necessary. Also, make sure that your cover letter does not include grandiose statements, overreaching ideas, or anything else that can possibly turn a recruiter off. These, in my opinion, are the main problems with using cover letters.

What Do Recruiters Look for on Social Media?

Social media can be the death of your job search. Rarely, it an help. I would say that it’s best to have a very private and low profile social media.

Recruiters, when they look at your social media , are trying to gauge a few things. First, they want to see if they are going to be dealing with a loose cannon.

I have come across resumes for people who worked in government roles, large non-profits, hospital employers, and similar mundane professions where the social media was flooded with profanity, boastful drug use, and virulent anti-social posting.

If someone has a wild social media profile, then they are a liability for the company that they might work for. These issues could include drug use at work, fighting with co-workers, outrageous statements that could reflect poorly on their coworkers, and countless other issues.

The more of a problem your social media profile is, the harder it will be for you to get a job. So, my advice for people looking to get on the job search is to review their social media. If you’re someone who is “outspoken” or in anyway an attention seeker, it would be best to set your social media profiles to private.

In some cases, however, a good social medial profile, particularly a good Instagram account, can boost your chances of landing the job. This is in the case of sales roles, customer service roles, and other client facing roles where the hiring managers want pleasant and fun people. So, a good Instagram account with lively and cheery photos can help.